Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 1998

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au C2004A05327 In force Act

Legislation content

 

 

 

 

Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 1998

 

No. 15, 1998

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 1998

 

No. 15, 1998

 

 

 

 

An Act to repeal the Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983 and the Industry Commission Act 1989, to deal with transitional and consequential matters arising from the repeals and from the enactment of the Productivity Commission Act 1998

 

Contents

1 Short title..................................1

2 Commencement..............................2

3 Schedule(s).................................2

Schedule 1—Repeal of Acts 3

Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983 3

Industry Commission Act 1989 3

Schedule 2—Transitional provisions and consequential amendments 4

Part 1—Transitional provisions relating to the Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983 and the Industry Commission Act 1989              4

Part 2—Consequential amendments of other Acts 7

Biological Control Act 1984 7

Bounty (Computers) Act 1984 7

Bounty (Machine Tools and Robots) Act 1985 7

Development Allowance Authority Act 1992 7

 

Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 1998

No. 15, 1998

 

 

 

An Act to repeal the Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983 and the Industry Commission Act 1989, to deal with transitional and consequential matters arising from the repeals and from the enactment of the Productivity Commission Act 1998

[Assented to 16 April 1998]

The Parliament of Australia enacts:

1  Short title

  This Act may be cited as the Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 1998.

2  Commencement

  This Act commences on the day on which it receives the Royal Assent.

3  Schedule(s)

  Each Act that is specified in a Schedule to this Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according to its terms.


Schedule 1—Repeal of Acts

Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983

1  The whole of the Act

Repeal the Act.

Industry Commission Act 1989

2  The whole of the Act

Repeal the Act.


Schedule 2—Transitional provisions and consequential amendments

Part 1—Transitional provisions relating to the Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983 and the Industry Commission Act 1989

1  Definitions

In this Schedule, unless the contrary intention appears:

commencement day means the day on which this Act commences.

EPAC means the Economic Planning Advisory Commission.

EPAC Act means the Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983.

IC means the Industry Commission.

IC Act means the Industry Commission Act 1989.

PC means the Productivity Commission.

PC Act means the Productivity Commission Act 1998.

2  Inquiries by IC

(1) If the IC had begun but not completed an inquiry or report under the IC Act before commencement day, the PC may complete the inquiry or report as if it had been begun under the PC Act.

(2) If the IC had not completed its hearings in relation to an inquiry under the IC Act before commencement day, the PC is taken to be required to hold hearings under the PC Act for the purposes of the inquiry.

(3) If the IC had completed an inquiry under the IC Act but had not begun a report on the inquiry before commencement day, the PC may make the report as if the inquiry had been held under the PC Act.

3  Staff

A person who, immediately before commencement day, was a member of the staff of EPAC or the IC is taken, from commencement day, to be a member of the staff of the PC.

4  Contracts

(1) In any contract, agreement or arrangement, or in any other instrument, a reference to EPAC or the IC is taken to be a reference to the PC.

(2) Subitem (1) does not apply in relation to matters that occurred before commencement day.

5  Appropriations

(1) Money that has been appropriated under an Act for the purposes of EPAC or the IC is taken to have been appropriated for the purposes of the PC.

(2) Subitem (1) does not apply to money that has been spent before commencement day.

6  Annual report

 The first annual report of the PC under section 10 of the PC Act must include a report on the operations of EPAC and the IC during the financial year to which the report relates.

7  Protection of witnesses

 A person who gave evidence, made a statement or produced a document at a hearing before the IC, is entitled to the same protection as if the person had done so at a hearing before the PC.

8  Records

(1) On commencement day records of the IC become records of the PC and any information or documents that were treated as confidential by the IC must be treated as confidential by the PC until the PC determines, with the consent of the person who supplied the information or documents, that the circumstances that originally required their confidentiality no longer apply.

(2) If a direction given by the IC under paragraph 17(2)(b) of the IC Act was in effect immediately before commencement day, it has effect after that day as if it were a direction given by the PC under subsection 53(1) of the PC Act.

9  Regulations

 The Governor-General may make regulations in relation to transitional matters arising out of the repeal of the EPAC Act and the IC Act and the enactment of this Act and the PC Act.


Part 2—Consequential amendments of other Acts

Biological Control Act 1984

10  Section 11

Repeal the section.

11  Paragraph 19(1)(f)

Repeal the paragraph, substitute:

 (f) arrange for the Minister who administers the Productivity Commission Act 1998 to refer the recommendation to the Productivity Commission for inquiry and report.

12  Paragraph 56(1)(e)

Omit “Industries Assistance Commission”, substitute “Productivity Commission”.

Bounty (Computers) Act 1984

13  Subsection 5(8)

Repeal the subsection.

Bounty (Machine Tools and Robots) Act 1985

14  Section 9

Repeal the section.

Development Allowance Authority Act 1992

15  Paragraph 16(2)(a)

Omit “Industry”, substitute “Productivity”.

 

(185/96)


[Minister's second reading speech made in—

House of Representatives on 4 December 1996

Senate on 13 February 1997]

 

 

 

Overview

The Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 1998, enacted by the Parliament of Australia, was introduced to repeal the Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983 and the Industry Commission Act 1989, and to address transitional and consequential matters arising from these repeals and from the enactment of the Productivity Commission Act 1998. The Act provides a legislative framework to ensure a smooth transition from the functions of the Economic Planning Advisory Commission and the Industry Commission to those of the Productivity Commission. The primary policy objective of this Act is to facilitate the transfer of responsibilities, assets, and liabilities from the repealed commissions to the newly established Productivity Commission, while ensuring continuity in the operations and functions of these entities. This involves provisions for the completion of inquiries, protection of witnesses, and the treatment of records and contracts, among other transitional and consequential measures.

Scope and Application

The Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 1998 is a Commonwealth statute that repeals the Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983 and the Industry Commission Act 1989, and deals with transitional and consequential matters arising from these repeals and from the enactment of the Productivity Commission Act 1998. The Act applies to the Economic Planning Advisory Commission, the Industry Commission, and the Productivity Commission. The Act also amends other Commonwealth Acts to reflect the repeals and the establishment of the Productivity Commission. The Act applies nationally across Australia as it is a Commonwealth Act. The Act does not specify any exclusions, exemptions, or thresholds. The Governor-General may make regulations in relation to transitional matters arising out of the repeal of the Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983 and the Industry Commission Act 1989 and the enactment of this Act and the Productivity Commission Act 1998, thereby extending the application of the Act through subordinate instruments.

Key Provisions

The Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 1998 primarily serves to repeal the Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983 and the Industry Commission Act 1989, while addressing transitional and consequential amendments resulting from these repeals and the enactment of the Productivity Commission Act 1998. This Act is divided into two schedules: Schedule 1 explicitly repeals the two older Acts, and Schedule 2 provides for transitional and consequential amendments. Under Schedule 1, Section 1 (3) repeals the Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983, and Section 2 (3) repeals the Industry Commission Act 1989. These repeals are effective from the day the Act receives Royal Assent, as stated in Section 2 of the Act. Schedule 2, Part 1, outlines transitional provisions, ensuring a smooth transfer of responsibilities and personnel from the repealed Acts to the Productivity Commission (PC). For instance, Section 2 (1) allows the PC to complete any inquiries or reports that the Industry Commission (IC) had started but not finished before the commencement of this Act. Section 3 ensures that staff members of the Economic Planning Advisory Commission (EPAC) or the IC are transferred to the PC, maintaining continuity of service. The Act imposes several obligations on the parties it governs. The PC is mandated to complete any unfinished inquiries or reports from the IC (Schedule 2, Part 1, Section 2). It also assumes the responsibility of holding hearings if the IC had not completed its hearings before the Act's commencement (Schedule 2, Part 1, Section 2(2)). Furthermore, Section 5 requires the PC to consider appropriations previously allocated to the EPAC or IC as now allocated to the PC. Additionally, the first annual report of the PC must include a report on the operations of EPAC and IC for the relevant financial year (Schedule 2, Part 1, Section 6). Breaches of the obligations imposed by this Act may result in civil or criminal consequences. While the Act itself does not explicitly outline penalties for non-compliance, existing legislation and common law principles would apply. For example, failure to comply with the Act's requirements for completing inquiries or reports could potentially lead to judicial review if the aggrieved party can demonstrate that the PC acted beyond its statutory powers or in a manner contrary to the intent of the Act. Additionally, the Act’s provisions on the protection of witnesses (Schedule 2, Part 1, Section 7) are crucial to ensuring that individuals who provided evidence or documents to the IC continue to receive appropriate protections, thus safeguarding the integrity of the investigations and reports.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Administrative Law
Instrument
Act
Concepts
Commencement Provisions
Repeal & Amendment
Transitional Provisions

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.